UNUSUALLY large numbers of people are falling ill with sore throats, the common cold, fever and diarrhoea – numbers large enough to classify the infections as an epidemic. Last week, polyclinics saw more than 20,000 patients with such problems – an indication that the infections have passed the epidemic threshold and are now spreading rapidly …

SINGAPORE : Some Singaporeans living in Brisbane say they are shocked at the damage to their properties following the recent floods. The swamped Australian city on Friday began the heartbreaking task of cleaning up after its worst floods in decades. More than 26,000 homes were flooded, electricity remained cut off to thousands of homes, and …

WASHINGTON – EUROPEAN scientists have found a way to genetically modify chickens so that they don’t transmit bird flu, according to research published on Thursday in the journal Science. Bird flu, also known as H5N1 avian influenza, usually afflicts poultry but can cross over to humans and cause lethal respiratory problems and other complications. The …

BRISBANE, Australia – – Massive floods shut down the centre of Australia’s third-largest city, sent thousands fleeing from their homes and sparked panic buying of food on Wednesday as rescuers searched for 43 people missing in floodwaters. Australia’s biggest floods in a century have so far killed 16 people since starting their onslaught across northern …

BRISBANE, Australia – Greg Kowald was driving through the center of Toowoomba when a terrifying, tsunami-like wall of water roared through the streets of the northeast Australian city. Office windows exploded, cars careened into trees and bobbed in the churning brown water like corks. The deluge washed away bridges and sidewalks; people desperately clung to …